The 52nd edition of Art Cologne gets a boost from first-time exhibitors Kamel Mennour, Clearing and Galerie Lelong, plus returnees such as Lisson and Gió Marconi. The exhibitor list—including David Zwirner, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Thaddaeus Ropac and White Cube—rivals that of other major fairs. But for the first time since 2013, the dates of Germany’s leading trade show clash with the 50th edition of Art Brussels.
“When the fairs overlapped, we would see fewer Belgians attending Art Cologne but a noticeable increase in international visitors,” says Daniel Hug, Art Cologne’s director, adding that he and Anne Vierstraete, Art Brussels’ managing director, have set up an “informal cooperation” to encourage international visitors to attend both.
Among the Cologne highlights are Galerie Barbara Wien’s stand devoted to the South Korean artist Haegue Yang (whose mid-career retrospective is at Museum Ludwig in Cologne) and new works by Isa Melsheimer, who draws inspiration from architectural structures, presented jointly in the Neumarkt sector by Galerie nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Esther Schipper and Jocelyn Wolff.
Julia Stoschek—the Dusseldorf-based collector of video and digital art—has been awarded the Art Cologne Prize, which “honours exceptional performances in the communication of art”.
• Art Cologne, Koelnmesse, 19-22 April
